Collars For Dollars
We begin episode 5 of For Life Season 2 with Aaron Wallace buying a brand new suit ready for visiting Jamal back in Belmont. As they sit and talk, Wallace admits he’s moved out from Marie’s and is struggling to move past what happened between them. After some encouraging words of wisdom, Wallace turns the attention back to Jamal’s case. Jamal learns that his self-defence plea may be down the drain thanks to an eye-witness report claiming otherwise. Instead, Wallace decides to use Jamal’s past trauma as the reason for why he killed Tony. Unfortunately Georgia is not going to budge and collaborate that… unless Wallace can convince her otherwise. Wallace speaks to Georgia and learns that Jamal took beatings for both of them. He even took random jabs to the chest from him as their Father told Jamal to “man up.” This, of course, is a direct result of Jamal being gay. Wallace knows this too and promises Georgia he’ll do everything he can to get his best friend out of prison. Henry receives a visit from a woman called Paola claiming aggressive behaviour from the police. She tells him the officer assaulted her but wants to speak to Wallace given his past history with cases. Wallace heads back to the office and dives into the case. Specifically, Henry mentions a scheme cops have called “collars for dollars”. This essentially sees officers making arrests right at the end of their shift so they can make bank overtime while filling out the paperwork. If that’s the case then Henry will be helping them. Only… this case takes place in the Bronx and because of that, it means Wallace will need to face Dez again. Paola brings her parents in and convinces them that this is the right thing to do. This case is a big one for Henry but it also brings back a lot of demons given his past. As we soon find out, Henry is the main defence lawyer here and Wallace is playing second chair. Henry is clearly rattled and struggles to get his words out. Eventually, he gets Wallace to take over for him. Aaron absolutely blasts the police officer, playing the “collars for dollars” card and claiming systemic abuse city-wide. The Judge wants more evidence to back this up and tasks Wallace with 48 hours to bring her something more substantial to work with. Despite his initial cold feet, Henry heads back to his rehab class and finds an ex-cop called Liam. He’s less than enthused at Henry’s idea but eventually comes around to it and agrees to help. Georgia rings Wallace that evening sobbing, admitting that Derek came over and that she needs help. With Derek refusing to leave, she pleads with Wallace to leave and help her out. Only, this causes serious problems given it’s after 10pm. With his curfew broken, Scotty shows up at court and takes Wallace away in handcuffs. This leaves Henry alone to interview Liam in front of the court. Wallace is forced to see Scotty every night at 9.59pm and even has to show his phone too. With the terms agreed, he heads back to see Jamal and asks him if he wants to fight. Only, Jamal raises his voice and tells Wallace to get his own house in order before meddling with his. Wallace takes this to heart and heads back to see Marie, eventually deciding to head in and spend Christmas with them. The episode comes to a close with Wallace walking inside and helping Jaz and Marie decorate the tree.
The Episode Review
For Life bows out its mid-season finale with a relatively sombre slice of drama. With Wallace taken away in handcuffs for breaking is probation, it looks like he’s walking a very fine line with Scotty going forward now. That’s to say nothing of his situation with Jamal either, which reaches fever pitch at the end when he tells Wallace to get his house in order. With Paola’s case still unresolved and Henry struggling to overcome his old demons, we’ve got quite the wait before the next episode airs in 2021. Still, For Life has been an enjoyable enough watch this year, even if it hasn’t quite matched up to the prowess of the first season’s intense claustrophobia and prison action.
